≫ s h e l l e y ≪ not short for michelle. A clean-ish eating mama to a cub living where the air is salty+life is sweet. wanderlusting through mom life and writing about it...

Mama Monday (tardy to the party by a day…sorry!)

I’ve “met” SO many amazing, inspirational, supportive TIU mamas since joining TIU and creating my TIU instagram account, and they are all way too beautiful to go unnoticed. Because of that, I’ve decided to start a mini blog series, “Mama Monday.” Sorry this one is a day late!! I’m having too much fun with my sister visiting, and we’ve been exploring and adventuring!

Without further ado, I’m so excited to introduce you to a mama who I’ve followed since Bikini Series. Carrie is literally one of the sweetest, most supportive TIU mom out there! She is there for SO many of us, always, and knows just what to say when we need it most. Personally, her kind words are always a light in my day, the sunshine to my rain clouds, and the Perfect Fit to my protein pancakes 😉

At my final pregnancy checkup, I had ballooned to 192 pounds. My pre-pregnancy weight was 148. Before I got pregnant, I was already pretty miserably unhappy with my weight and my body, but was so unbelievably lazy. Anyway, I dropped 35 pounds from breastfeeding within about 3 months. At my annual checkup last November, I weighed 155. At my biometric screening in February, I was at 153.

I bought the TIU nutrition plan on April 2, 2014

I actually found Tone it Up at the end of January, and had been doing the workouts for a few weeks when we had that biometric screening. My eating, though, was ridiculous. Aside from crock-pot meals, I didn’t cook. We ate out all the time, a lot of fast food, and even though I made the best decisions (or, I thought I did) I wasn’t really seeing results. I bought the nutrition plan in April, and this October I weighed in at 136! (I honestly don’t care about the weight, though, anymore. It’s like icing on the tiu-approved cake.)

I started my TIU Instagram account after Bikini Series

I was so gung-ho for the Bikini Series, but ended up getting sick for 2.5 weeks of it and didn’t complete it. I did it over again with a group of girls, which is when I started my TIU Instagram account, and even though I didn’t reach my miles goal, I was really starting to see results. Clothes were fitting better, I didn’t hate being seen in shorts, & my confidence was growing.

Where are you now…

Frisky Fall really put it all together for me. I stick to the plan about 75-80% of the time (some weeks more), follow the weekly schedule, started running (well, wogging, Shelley’s term for a walk/jog) and have made my health and fitness a priority, which, as a Mom, can be so difficult to do.

Left [Before TIU]: March 29, 2014

Right [After TIU]: November 2014

What do you do…

I’m sure eventually I will go back to work, but for now, as a stay at home mom, my focus is on me, and making sure I can be the best version of me and raise a little girl who is happy and confident, and loves herself – which is something I am finally learning how to do after 35 years.

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Carrie is one of my favorite mamas on Instagram, and her story is inspiring and dear to my #tiumama heart! If I had to describe Carrie in a quote, it would beeeeeee…

Disclaimer

I am not a certified personal trainer (yet!), doctor, nutritionist or registered dietitian, in sports medicine, a therapist, or anything else with a fancy schmancy title or Dr. in front of it.

When making health and exercise decisions or starting a new fitness regimine, be sure to consult a professional first. When making a recipe, be sure to use your own personal judgement or consult an allergist, doctor, or dietitian prior. Take yourself, your health, and your needs into consideration before using the advice or opinions from Seashells and Sit Ups.